Aidworkers Seized By Gunmen
Published: October 26, 2011 (Issue # 1680)
NAIROBI, Kenya — Somali gunmen kidnapped an American aid worker and her Danish colleague from northern Somalia on Tuesday, officials said.
The 60-year-old Danish man and the 30-year-old American woman were working for the Danish Demining Group when they were seized in northern Somalia, two Nairobi-based officials said. They asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The group did not immediately answer phone calls placed to its headquarters in Denmark following the attack, which happened near the Puntland capital of Galkayo.
The two Westerners were taken by gunmen while on their way to the airport, said Ahmed Mohamed, a police officer in the Somali town of Galkayo.
Galkyo is divided in two, a northern section under the control of the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, and a southern section under the control of a clan called Galmudug. Mohamed said the two kidnapped Westerners crossed into the southern side of the town and were abducted there.
The Danish Demining Group helps dispose of unexploded bombs and teaches communities about the dangers of land mines and other ordinance, according to its web site.